Blog

This week warnings have been issued in London and parts of Scotland that the pollution level is higher than normal. Air quality will be very low starting on Thuesday and the Mayor of London has gone out with a warning.

Warnings will also be seen on signs at the bus stops, train stations, highways and more to turn off the motor when you stand still.

This is proof on the air quality in London

I will not only blame the Londoners for thir own pollution since I know that many of these small dangerous particles are flying in from over seas France and Germany. But this could have been avoided if air quality wasn’t already bad.

The Mayor of London is now trying to do a couple of things to help clean up the air and be on the right track as fast as possible but it’s probably way too slow.

So what should you do?

You should start to think about how you can pitch in even though nobody is forcing you, for now. There are multiple small ways you could contribute to better breathing air for us and our future children. Make sure to utilize one of the many other transportation alternatives available. I made a list a while ago on my favorite electric scooter vehicles which you should consider reading.

You can walk instead of taking the car, many times we take the car even if we’re just going less than 2 kilometers. A distance that could be covere just as fast or close to, if you were to walk there.

These are just a few of the things you can do. And when you start thinking more and more about it you will open a new door which will lead to these decisions being made on auto-pilot.

So the traffic fumes that we let our cars pour into our atmosphere is more than devastating to our planet. If every day 30% of the earth’s population would choose to ride a more environmental-friendly electric transportation option than we normally do. Then the direction this planet is heading could quickly be doing a 180 and go towards the green side of the board. We need to quit polluting our planet and start taking care of what matters. Money won’t matter if you have nowhere to spend it, even less if you’re already dead. So we have made a list of the top 10 best electric rides for environmentally conscious people. These rides are not only environmental-friendly, they are also cooler and much more fun to ride around on.

My top 5 environment-friendly electric rides

Below is a combined list of my favorite choices after reading numerous guides on what the best electric ride might be. Perfect picks for both the environment geek such as I and the ones who just want a portable way to get to where they need to be, in style of course.

Electric skateboards

The electric skateboard has been something of a myth. Emerging in the late 70’s – early 80’s with its vacuum cleaner motors attached to a cord on the wall they didn’t really make a home run. But they are finally back and they work just like everyone dreamt they would back then. Without a cord, very small batteries, and there are even hub motors. Which basically means that the motor is built into the wheels so you cannot see the motors. They vary in style from the basic Canadian maple leaf longboard were used too, to more sophisticated and lightweight options made out of carbon fiber. The cheap alternatives tend to have a price tag around usd200-350 whilst the more expensive models can cost up to two grand. The max speed that I’ve seen is around 45 km/h and they usually take you a distance of 20 kilometers before the battery is empty.

Electric bikes

Electric powered bikes, how about that? We are really coming into a new era here and it is about time we move towards a more sustainable source of energy. While pedaling is still the most energy efficient way of transporting yourself on a bicycle. Most electric bikes will only help you along the way. These are called e-assisted bikes that which means that it will assist you in pedaling up to a set speed limit and then you’re on your own. The highest speed I’ve seen on a bike is somewhere at 60 km/h and it’ll assist you for around 50 kilometers, kinda powerful right? Great for those of us who are commuting to work on a bike, but tends to take the car once in a while due to fatigue. No worries, there are e-bikes with throttles too so you can just sit back and relax all the way to work. Price ranges heavily between the low range brands and exclusive ones, around usd500-7,000

Segways

Popular amongst rich people a few years back, but costing around USD8,000-10,000 they Segway never got to be more than a dream. They never made a model for the ordinary working-class people so later they had to sell out to Ninebot, who is backed by another Chinese company called Xiaomi. This was pretty brutal as Segway Inc has earlier that year accused Ninebot of IP infringement. What happens to the brand is yet known, but they are still operating as usual. These days you can find Segway like scooters for around usd1,000-2,500 and upwards. The speed limit on these scooters are somewhere between 20km/h and 30km/h and they have a range around 25 kilometers give or take a few. They are available in both off-road style, small and large alternatives, and for businesses.

Hoverboards

The hoverboard is like a smaller version of a Segway scooter, even though since Ninebot bought them up they have been developing a new smaller hoverboard themselves, the Segway Mini. It operates without you steering with a handle. Instead, you use your feet and twist in order to make a turn. You lean forward in order to go forward and backward in order to move backward. In other words just like a Segway but in a more compact travel-friendly size. A hoverboard doesn’t go as fast as a large Segway. They do around 12-20km/h and can take you anywhere from 15-25 kilometers depending on your riding style and loading weight. The best part with a hoverboard is that they are far cheaper than their ancestors, the Segway. The price ranges from usd175-699 so you can be sure there is a hoverboard that fits within your budget. From what I’ve read, if you pick a UL approved hoverboard you shouldn’t have to worry about it catching fire either, which is good. Although there have been other reports of problems with hoverboards. They are great for errands, getting back and forth to school so you don’t have to drive the kids and they are pretty fast to recharge so they won’t have to sit on the sofa for too long before they can ride again. A great versatile unit that provides excellent value for the money.

Electric Scooters

Electric scooters are my favorite part, they come in so many various designs and styles. There are one for any occasion. Wheather you want to go riding in the dirt, just glide or feel the need for speed an electric scooter is a decent sized unit that gives you good distance and speed for their weight and portability. Many can be folded together so you can easily take them on the train, bus or whatever is your favorite commute for the distances above 30 kilometers which is the standard of most scooters. There are some scooters that let you go all the way up to 80 kilometers on a charge, but of course, the price matches those specifics. They have a speed varying between 20 up to 65km/h which is pretty fast for a small thing such as those. They are larger than their ancestors the kick-bike and they weigh more but that’s mainly because of the battery, motors, and extra gear you have to have mounted in order for them to work. The prices range somewhere between $300 to $1,500 and you get what you pay for when it comes to performance.

One wheel balance scooters

So these are similar to hoverboards by the fact that they help keep the wheel in the balance as it drives you forward. The only exception is it has one wheel instead of two, a pretty large wheel too if you ask me. This large wheel looks very similar to the wheel of a bicycle and its size lets you reach very high speeds without you having to worry about having a face-to-face meeting with the asphalt. They have a speed around 25-40km/h and can ride much further than any hoverboard at approximately 35-45 kilometers on a single charge. That’s what makes them such a great option for us environmentalist who also love the thrill of going fast but still have a few miles to go before we get there. The price ranges from $350 up to somewhere around $1,500 for the more expensive luxury models out there. The difference is probably very small, but you get a few extra features and you know the product will hold the test of time.

So which e-ride would you choose?

So now you’ve read some of my favorite electric rides that I’ve come across. Perhaps you have a different perspective or have I missed an e-ride that would be of great value to my readers?

Feel free to comment below on which e-ride’s you like and let’s see which one is the more popular choice among the masses.

The Green Planet, the region’s first bio-dome that recreates the enchanting world of a tropical forest with its rich biodiversity of over 3,000 plants and animals.

The enclosed ecosystem, located at City Walk, will offer visitors an immersive expedition into the tropics, inviting them to delve deeper into the secrets of nature and experience first-hand the magnificence of one of the world’s oldest living ecosystems, the rain forest.

The Green Planet is open to the curious and adventurous, the young and old, to experience the unique beauty of another world.

Within The Green Planet, a majestic green canopy will cover the lush tropical vegetation, recreating the natural habitat of an abundance of species and giving visitors striking glimpses into the beauty of this far-away world.

The bio-dome will seamlessly integrate exhibitions and displays that encourage visitors to explore the inner workings of the ecosystem. The building also includes a giant 25-metre tree, which is the largest indoor man-made and life-sustaining tree in the world.

Visitors to The Green Planet will enjoy a journey of exploration and enlightenment that creates lasting memories.

The highly personalized encounters with plants and animals will motivate children to learn fascinating facts, while at the same time instilling respect for the intricacy and fragility of the environment. Something every child should experience first hand in order to inspire the next generation to live a healthier, more environmentally friendly life.

So can breathing in traffic fumes during infancy increase the risk of allergies later on?

Recent Canadian research led by Dr. Michael Brauer and Dr. Hind Sbihi from The University of British Columbia is pointing in that direction.

Their study followed children in four Canadian cities and found that babies who were exposed to higher levels of traffic pollution during their first year of life were at greater risk of developing sensitivities to things like milk or peanuts, household mold, and even to cats and dogs. Even a small increase in the babies’ exposure to air pollution increased the allergy risk.

These results are based on data from AllerGen’s Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development, or CHILD, Study: a groundbreaking birth cohort study following 3500 Canadian kids from birth to school age. CHILD is one of the largest studies in the world to look in-depth at how the environment and our genes interact in early life to cause allergies, asthma and other chronic diseases.

Dr.Brauer’s research also found factors linked to lower allergy rates, including owning a cat or dog and living in a home with no attached garage. Kids who attended daycare or had older siblings were also less likely to develop sensitivities, suggesting that exposures to everyday germs can help train a baby’s developing immune system and nudge it along a non-allergic path.

Dr. Brauer’s team doesn’t yet know whether the link between early exposure to air pollution and susceptibility to allergies will persist, but they intend to find out by tracking these children as they grow, to if symptoms of hay fever, asthma or food allergy develop.

Whatever they discover, it’s never too soon to avoid air pollution, according to Dr. Brauer, and his team hopes that policymakers and urban planners will take notice.

“People choose where they live based on price, the quality of schools and any number of factors,” he says.

“Based on what we know now, minimizing exposure to traffic pollution is another consideration to keep in mind”.

Hi, I’m Daniel Malley

You just landed on Chumster. My place for day-to-day tips and tricks with an eco-friendly touch. Here I'll try to spread my love for this beautiful planet along with some very easy adjustments you can make in order to reduce your own carbon footprint.